President Trump has declared a national emergency over the coronavirus on March 13th. Governor Burgum declared a state of emergency for North Dakota on March 13th as well. As of March 15th, the CDC has recommended to cancel any large gathering of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. There was also a business conference in Boston linked to 30 positive cases.

I know that as of now, North Dakota has been lucky with very a low number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases. The data, however, is suggestive that we as a state and a nation are just at the beginning of this crisis. The Board of Directors for the NDANA wants to keep the best interests of our members and our community as our number one priority. We not only want to help limit the potential spread of the virus and "flatten the curve" of transmission, but we also want to make sure that as essential healthcare providers we stay healthy as a group.

I would like everyone who has registered for the conference to know that they will be refunded. Also, if there is anyone who was counting on this conference to complete the required number of CEUs for recertification for 2020 and needs help to find alternative options for fulfilling their CEU requirements, please contact me. The NBCRNA and the AANA will be having a meeting Wednesday the 18th to discuss this very issue.

This is certainly a new situation for all of us. We appreciate your understanding as we all work through this together.

Let us all be the "State of Calm" during this storm.

Jennifer Hoggarth
NDANA President